


debates of all sorts

by juliebee



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Identity Reveal, Long Shot, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Pining, Poor Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Reveal, School, i dont really know how to tag. im sorry, i mean eventually yea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22610260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliebee/pseuds/juliebee
Summary: After an interesting school assignment in which Marinette and Adrien are designated to debate on who was better-- Ladybug or Chat Noir-- an unlikely friendship forms between Marinette and Chat Noir, who comes to her at first to help but stays for her pleasant company. As much as Marinette likes his attention, she can't help but feel like she's lying to him.As time passes, Marinette debates with herself about revealing her true identity to Chat. She trusts him wholeheartedly and eventually realizes she wants him to know, but can she deal with the potential consequences?Marinette has much to think about! What started as a stupid idea in my head turned into a much longer reveal-fic type thing. Follow along from Marinette's perspective as she grapples with the responsibilities and consequences of being both Paris' favorite superhero and best friends with someone whose name she doesn't even know.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 9
Kudos: 298





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> edited 6/22/20: hi friends! first off, apologies to anyone who's subscribed to this-- im just making some tiny changes, adding in italics so it doesn't look like i switch points of view halfway through a paragraph, breaking it up into chapters. nothing too big, but i hopes it makes it easier and better to read!  
> second off, thanks for the support this has gotten! i really think it pales in comparison to other reveal fics, its just a short little dumb idea of mine, but since ive uploaded this, it's gotten way more love than i was expecting. thanks, and if you're new here, enjoy!

"Alright, class, please pick your debate partner out of this hat." Madame Bustier held up a black top hat with a purple band. "Half the class's name is in here, the other half of names are the ones picking. Alya, you're first."

Alya rose from her seat beside Marinette, shooting her a gleeful glance. She strode to the front of the classroom and dunked her hand into the hat, ruffling around until finally pulling out the tiniest slip of cream-colored paper. "Please read it out for us," Madame Bustier instructed as Alya read it. Her grin had faded, and now her face was dark.

"Sabrina," she muttered. Marinette couldn't see, but she was sure that Sabrina and Chloe had rolled their eyes in unison.

"Excellent. Sabrina," Madame Bustier continued, producing yet another hat— a baseball cap this time— filled with just as many papers as the top hat. "You will be picking the topic you and Alya are to debate on."

Sabrina huffed and stuck her hand in boredly, pulling the first one she'd touched. "Monarchy versus Democracy," she mumbled, avoiding Alya's gaze from where she stood at the front of the class. "I pick monarchy."

"Sounds good to me," Alya said as Madame Bustier returned to the front of the class with the two paper-filled hats. Marinette watched as Alya climbed the steps back up to her seat, her expression still sour. 

"At least it'll be an easy win," Marinette whispered to her as Nino picked out his partner— Kim— and looked considerably more happy than his girlfriend. 

"I don't want things to be easy. I like challenges." Alya settled back into her seat. "This unit has been so fun, I don't want everything I've learned to go to waste."

The class had spent the last week learning about persuasive writing and rhetoric. It had been rather fun, but then again, everything the class seemed to do was fun when Mrs. Bustier was the teacher. Day in and day out they learned how to get what they wanted, how to make others agree with them, how to get a point across meaningfully and carefully thought out. Every day was a new topic to discuss. Marinette had had a field day with it all, thoroughly enjoying being able to express her opinion better than ever before.

That day, Madame Bustier had announced that in the coming days, the students would be doing unscripted debates over fun topics. All the students were overjoyed— the only persuasion they'd done thus far was in essay forms, never out loud. That was except for Chloe, who was so used to getting what she wanted she didn't see the point in learning how to make a point. But she didn't count.

"Marinette, you're next," Madame Bustier said. She let out a little squeak, realizing she hadn't been paying attention and had no idea who was left to get. "Marinette," the teacher said again, as impatient as she could make herself sound, which wasn't much. 

Marinette hurried out of her seat, careful not to trip and embarrass herself. _Anyone but Chloe_ , she pled as she plunged her hand into the hat. There were three papers in it. 

The smallest piece of paper was likely Chloe's, Marinette thought, so she grabbed the largest one and pulled it out, unraveling it as carefully as possible. 

"A-Adrien," she stuttered out when she read it. _I take it back. Give me Chloe!_

"Awesome," Adrien said, shooting her one of his confident, easy smiles. She felt her legs go jelly and her thoughts still. There was no way she could win a debate against him, she'd just fumble around all of her words!

Madame Bustier approached him with the baseball cap and held it in front of him. Like the top hat, there were only three pieces of paper left. 

Adrien picked one after a few seconds of what looked like careful consideration, then pulled one slip out and read it, his smile fading. "Can I get a different one?"

Marinette frowned as she made her way back to her seat. "Sorry, Adrien, but what you get is what you get," Madame Bustier said. "Please share with the class what you and Marinette will be debating on."

"Ladybug versus Chat Noir," he said almost quietly. "Come on. Can't we do something else? I don't want to rank one above the other."

Marinette's face paled. First she was assigned Adrien, which was a for-sure loss due to her inability to speak, and now she was going to have to talk about her or her best friend like one was better than the other? "I agree, can we get a different topic? Alya? Do you want to switch?"

Alya nodded eagerly, but Madame Bustier was firm. "No, you two. Adrien, which superhero would you like to claim as better? It's all in good fun, and besides, I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will never even know that it's happening."

 _Oh really?_ Marinette thought to herself bitterly.

"Ladybug," Adrien conceded. "If I have to."

If Marinette could get any paler, she would have. _I suppose it will be nice to hear Adrien talk good about me, but..._

Alya nudged her. "It's no fair! You get the best topic," she whispered. "If you want, I can put it on the ladyblog. I know for a fact Chat Noir checks it."

"Does he now?" Marinette mused, her mind already racing about how she was going to get out of this. Nathaniel and Rose were going to be debating on school uniforms and whether they were good or bad. Juleka and Max were to talk about the advantages versus disadvantages of artificial intelligence, something Max seemed thrilled about. 

"Excuse me," Chloe said when it seemed as if everyone had their topic assigned, "you seem to have forgotten _moi_."

"No, I didn't," Madame Bustier replied patiently. "I clearly remember you being paired with Alix. Your topic was cats verse dogs."

Alix wrinkled her eyebrows. "Yeah. You picked my name."

"Ah, well, you see," Chloe said, flipping her blonde ponytail behind her shoulder and batting her long eyelashes. "I don't like that topic. Maybe Adrien and I can switch."

"While we're at it, they should switch partners too!" Sabrina interjected. "Chloe would much rather debate Dupain-Cheng than Alix."

"Really?" Marinette piped up, shooting a pleading glance at Madame Bustier, who shook her head and stomped her foot firmly on the ground. 

"Students, please, you must learn to be happy with what you get as a topic. In the working world, you don't get to choose what you do and don't do and I am supposed to prepare you for that. I implore you to find some kind of fun in your topics— I picked them for a reason, and you must have picked yours for a reason, too." She stared at Chloe, then shifted her eyes to Adrien. "Debates are tomorrow. Please do not come with a script, but instead, research and have your key points written down on a piece of notebook paper that will be turned in for a grade."

"How is this being graded?" Max asked eagerly from the back, his pencil already flying. 

The teacher smiled. "Good question, Max. You will be graded on the strength of your argument and how you present it— it's not a large grade, so please don't stress about it. These are supposed to be fun ways of sharing ideas with fellow classmates while also applying what I've been teaching you."

The bell rang and the students collectively began to pack up their papers. "What are you going to do, Marinette?" Alya asked from beside her as Marinette tucked her pink-and-white notebook into her backpack. "I mean, Ladybug is _soo_ much better than Chat Noir."

"I think they're both pretty cool," Adrien piped up from in front of them, turning around and leaning his elbow on the seat. "But Ladybug is just a tiny bit cooler."

Marinette blushed furiously and avoided his gaze, turning her attention to her neat bag and rifling around like she was looking for something. Adrien thought she was cooler than Chat Noir!

"What do you think, Mari?" Alya asked.

"I think it's unfair to rank human beings as above each other, especially when they both do so much to help the city," she mumbled quietly, trying to ignore the fact that Adrien was listening to her. "But I guess I can think of some things for Chat Noir. He may be annoying, but he really does help out Ladybug a lot."

Adrien laughed. "You think he's annoying?"

Marinette's eyes bugged out and she nervously shook her head. "O-of course not! I don't think he's annoying, I mean, he's cool. You're cool. I mean, no you're not. I mean you are, but-"

"Okay, that's enough." Alya grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her out of her seat. "Want to go to the library and work together? I can maybe help you. I know more about Ladybug and Chat Noir than you for sure."

 _I doubt that,_ Marinette thought. "Sure, Alya."

"Good luck, Marinette," Adrien said as she was heading out of the classroom, giving her another wink. "You're going to need it. I know a ton about Ladybug."

Marinette blushed and tried to stutter out a "you too!" but couldn't, for she was absolutely tongue-tied. Adrien seemed to really like her!

Well, it wasn't really her. She and Ladybug were the same person, but that didn't mean they had the same personality. As her masked alter-ego, she was confident and assertive and brave, strong and clever and willful, sarcastic and joking with her friend. As Marinette, she felt like a watered-down version— without the mystery and magic of it all, she was just a girl afraid to talk to her crush. As Marinette, she was just a baker's daughter with big dreams and bigger ideas that never became reality. As Ladybug, she made things happen. 

"You okay, girl?" Alya asked as they sat down at the table. Marinette shook her head to clear her thoughts. 

"Yeah, yeah! Just... trying to think of some ideas, I guess." She tapped her pen against her chin. "I don't know how much it's going to matter, though, there's no idea I can ever win a debate against Adrien. You know I won't get any coherent thoughts out."

Alya laughed. "Yeah, I thought that might happen, so here, check this out." She pulled out her phone and clicked on her photo gallery, swiping for a bit and then showing her friend a picture of Adrien with a badly-photoshopped on Chat Noir outfit. "He looks a bit like him, yeah?"

Marinette laughed a little too loudly. "No way. Chat Noir's hair is longer and he's definitely shorter than Adrien, plus Adrien's eyes are way greener, and Chat Noir is-"

"Come on, you can't deny that there's at least a tiny resemblance. I'm not saying he's Chat Noir or anything, but they certainly look alike, yeah?" Alya winked at her. "Why don't you just pretend Adrien's him when you're debating?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I don't see how that would help me considering I'd only be talking about how great Chat Noir is. I'd very much like it if he didn't even know this debate happened, ever, in the history of-"

"But at least you're more comfortable speaking to a superhero than Adrien," Alya pointed out. "Come on. Just try it. You always tell Adrien he's dreamy or nice or whatever when you're speaking to him anyways, so act like you're just telling it to Chat Noir!"

"I'll think about it," Marinette said, confused and a bit annoyed. She didn't see how this would help her at all. Alya probably just wanted an excuse to spout one of her crazy theories again. "What are you going to do for your topic?"

Alya launched into some boring tirade about the benefits democracy had over a monarchy, allowing Marinette to de-focus and think about her own topic. First and foremost, she had to think of the key points she'd be using as Madame Bustier had taught them.

If she was asked to talk about why Chat Noir was so great, she could go on for hours. He was an excellent friend, an amazing partner, and overall just a lovely person to be around. She treasured their friendship and his puns, no matter how stupid they were, and knew without him she wouldn't be half the superhero she was.

But none of that could ever be said in front of her class. And she wasn't speaking about why he was so great, she was talking about why he was better than she was. And never in a million years would she ever admit that. 

Three key points, three reasons why he was better, and she couldn't think of one. 

Maybe something about his stick? She thought. Marinette loved her yo-yo, she really did, but she couldn't deny how useless it was at certain times. His baton was much easier to wield in battle and resembled the classic weapons much more than a circle on a string, magical or not. And hers had been rendered useless multiple times without her powers, whereas his was just technology, not magic. 

"Alya," Marinette said blankly, cutting off her friend's rant comparing their current mayor to a monarch. "I think my first point will be about Chat's baton. It's better than the yo-yo."

Alya snorted. "Puh-lease. I would much rather have the yo-yo, have you seen how fast she swings around the city? And what does he do, just pogo around everywhere?"

"But-"

Suddenly there was a loud screaming outside the library. Marinette and Alya dropped their papers and ran to the window, seeing a ten-foot-tall monster-like creature made solely out of various blobs and gases. It looked like some sort of chemistry experiment gone horribly wrong, but there was no mistaking the glowing butterfly around its eyes. "An Akuma," Marinette grumbled.

"Come on, let's go get a closer look!" Alya said excitedly, already pulling out her phone and snapping grainy pictures through the glass. Marinette shook her head.

"No way. I'm going to hide in the bathroom," she said quickly, pointing in a direction that was definitely not where the bathroom was. "I'll catch up with you... be careful! Don't get too close!"

"It's just an Akuma. Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here in a flash anyways," Alya said. "Come on. Come watch them up close, you always miss the action! And it's good research for your project!"

Alya tugged on her arm. "No way. I'm not getting anywhere near that thing," Marinette said as it shot a gigantic purple glob of some sort of material at a collection of scared-looking people, who screamed and shuddered as they were encased and froze underneath its mass. Within seconds, it had faded, leaving behind four mini versions of the original Akuma.

"Suit yourself," Alya said, taking off and running out of the library. Marinette looked around nervously, seeing too many people hiding in the crowded library and deciding she couldn't transform here. Perhaps she could get closer first so nobody would see Ladybug leaving the school so closely after the final bell rung.

Marinette counted to ten and then took off in the same direction as Alya did, sneaking through the front doors to the school. Whoever the monster was, he seemed to have a grudge with someone at the particular middle school, for it didn't leave the front street and took slow, heavy steps towards the doors. Marinette ducked behind one of the grand columns outside the doors, realizing she couldn't transform here or anywhere near here. She would have to get farther away.

The superheroine craned a nervous neck around the column, hoping that the monster had lost its interest in the College Francois Dupont and instead headed off deeper in the city. But, this was not the case— it seemed to be transfixed on the front entrance. 

It had two beady blue eyes, Marinette noticed as it looked directly at her, framed in black blobs that looked like glasses. As she stared at it, she noticed a dark dot left of where a nose would be should a globular creature have a face. It almost looked like—

And then its arm was pointed at her. "One of my brightest students," it said clearly in a voice Marinette recognized, for she had been in her class only hours before. "You will make an excellent minion!"

 _Why was Ms. Mendeleiv akumatized?_ Marinette thought to herself, not even realizing that one of the Akuma's arms was pointed at her. A large mess of blue, pink, and yellow came hurtling at her rather quickly, the fumes making her eyes water as it neared. Marinette panicked, but it was too late, it would encapsulate everything around her if she ran. If only she had been paying more attention, she could have gotten out of the way, and now she was going to be made into a minion and nobody would be able to de-evilize her Akuma!

In the split second before impact, Marinette could have sworn a single, poetic tear rolled down her cheek. She braced for the feeling of the stuff splattering onto her, covering her hair and clothes and morphing her into one of the mindless chemical minions of Ms. Mendeleiv, but it never came. Instead, strong arms were wrapped around her waist and she was brought high up into the air. "That was a close one," a familiar voice said.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette practically sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck as he carried her away from the school's entrance. "I thought I was going to be one of those minions! I've never been so happy to see you!"

"Woah, woah," he said, unable to hide his pleased-looking smile as he looked down on her. "What can I say? Damsels in distress are my forte. No need to thank me."

"Thank you," Marinette said anyways. They reached a building multiple blocks away and he set her gingerly down on top of the roof, hidden behind a chimney. "You showed up at the perfect time."

"What were you doing so close to that Akuma, anyways? And what happened?" Chat noir gazed in the direction off towards her school, absentmindedly twirling his baton in his hands.

"I was... looking for my friend! Alya! I'm sure you know her, she runs the ladyblog?" Marinette said hurriedly and a bit higher-pitched than usual, suddenly realizing she didn't see Alya anywhere. Hopefully her friend hadn't been hit with the same stuff she almost was! "She was going out to report on it, but I didn't want her to get in trouble. You haven't seen her, have you?"

"No, I haven't, sorry. I'll keep an eye out, though." Chat stopped twirling his baton and instead dialed in the sequence of buttons that would call Marinette, should she have transformed by now. "Gosh, where is she?"

"Maybe she's fighting it already?" Marinette suggested, her gratefulness wearing off and her need to fight and rid Paris of the Akuma replacing it. "You... should go check!"

"Sure, but I don't want to just leave you here on this rooftop," he frowned. "I can take you home first, then I'll go-"

"No, that's okay! I like it here!" Marinette smiled a bit too widely. "There's no way it can reach me here, the farther the better!"

"Okay, but how are you going to get down after we get the monster?" Chat asked. "Maybe I can just-"

"Don't worry about me, Chat Noir. Go save Paris, I'm sure Ladybug's waiting for you." _More like waiting for you to go away._

"Right, right." He tapped a gloved hand against his chin. "Oh, I'll just come back and get you after. Just stay put, 'kay?"

"Sure thing!" Marinette said through gritted teeth. That was going to be annoying to have to come back, but at least it would get him gone faster than if he were to take her all the way home.

And then, finally, he was off, finally, using that baton of his to half-swing-half-launch himself back in the direction of the school, where havoc was still wreaking. Marinette sighed. Alya was right. As far as transportation went, her yo-yo was much, much better. 

"Marinette!" A squeaky voice said from her purse. Tikki flew out of it, pointing one of her tiny little arms in the direction Chat Noir had just left in. "He's gone, it's time to go after him!"

"I thought he'd never leave," she conceded. "Oh well. My debate points will have to wait, we have an Akuma to save. Tikki, spots on!"

Moments later, now masked and red and black, Marinette landed on the school's roof just next to her black-clad companion. "There you are," he said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "I was beginning to worry."

"Of course you were," she hummed, watching as the blob-like creature that was probably Ms. Mendeleiev converting more and more people into her tiny little chemistry projects, who in turn created their own. "Do you have any idea what happened? Or where the Akuma is?"

Chat Noir shook his head, his blonde hair that was much longer and much less nice-looking than Adrien's hitting him in the cheek. "No. I'd only just got here when I had to relocate one of the students."

Marinette tried to hide her embarrassment and looked away. "I can't see any clear items on it. Do you think that its Akuma is somewhere else, like Dark Owl's was?"

Chat Noir shook his head. "I don't know, Milady. But we have to stop it."

"Duh, and we're going to," Marinette said. The beady blue eyes locked onto the two superheroes perched on the roof just then. 

"Ladybug! Chat Noir! Give me your miraculous!" It roared in a voice that seemed rather unbefitting of its dehumanoid, rainbow form. 

The two of them leaped into the air to avoid being hit by a blue and green substance. "Not gonna happen," Chat Noir said, changing direction mid-air and extending his baton as he jumped over the monster. It went right through it, for its body turned into straight gas. 

With her partner now on an opposite roof than her, Ladybug was left without a plan. She hadn't fought any Akumas that didn't have a clear item before, nor did she ever fight one that didn't have a solid form. How was she going to stop it if it didn't have arms and legs to stop?

"Ladybug!" Chat roared from across the street, and she narrowly dodged a pure-black glob. 

There was no time to think, she just had to save the people still hiding around her and not get hit herself.

"Chat, what are we going to do?" She yelled, landing from her daring leap off the College's roof behind an overturned car. Her partner soon joined her, easily balancing on the balls of his feet. You know what they say about cats— they always land on their feet.

"It's made of solid-gas, and I don't see any kind of Akuma," he conceded. "But I have an idea."

"You do?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Normally she came up with their ideas. "What?"

"Come on, Bug. Haven't you ever taken chemistry?" Chat Noir gave her a sly smile. "I think— I mean, I heard some people say that they think she's one of the science teachers here at the school. I don't know what happened, but I think something went wrong in the chem lab and now she's made of the periodic table."

"Everything's made of the periodic table, kitty."

He shook his head in annoyance. "You know what I mean— she's all gas and substrates and stuff right now. What do we use in chemistry to get rid of that all?"

Marinette gazed blankly at him. "...Other gases and stuff?"

Chat Noir shook his head. "No. Er, technically. Water! I'm willing to bet if we get the monster wet she'll turn into something else, maybe with a clear item we can destroy. Come on, let's try and lead it to the Seine!"

Marinette blinked as he took off. Chat Noir actually had a good idea— when the students had to clean their beakers, they used water. Unless she was made of a group one metal, which reacted violently with water, he could be right. "Chat Noir, wait!" She called, following after him and once more barely missing being hit. She was just off her game that day. 

"This way!" He called to the Akuma, who turned her disturbingly human eyes their way and took large steps in their direction, firing off all sorts of chemical solutions. One of the minions trailed them closer than Ms. Mendeleiev, spouting out its own chemicals. A yellowy mess landed at Marinette's feet as she swung over a lamppost, the terrible smell of rotten eggs getting in her nose and mouth and making her gag. 

"Watch out for the minions!" Her partner called, only feet in front of her and with a similar disgusted expression. "Man, that smells awful!"

She followed his black suit onto the roof where he'd dropped her off as Marinette, not realizing it until they were crowded behind the very chimney she'd transformed behind. Chat didn't seem to realize that Marinette was nowhere in sight, but she was sure the idea would come to him eventually. "I think the minions can only shoot out one element at a time," he said, pointing to a particularly small one that was shooting out what looked like nothing. 

"That one shoots sulfur," Ladybug mumbled, pointing a gloved hand towards the yellow one that had narrowly got her, now wandering aimlessly down the cobblestone street. The Seine was just two blocks away, she could see it clearly from there, but she didn't know how long the monster would follow them for before she saw it was a trap. "Chat, your idea is great, but I don't think we can make it all the way to the river without it realizing our plan."

"I know, so why doesn't my Lady use that charm of hers and figure something out?" He grinned in a way that would almost have been condescending if it was on anyone less ridiculous-looking than Chat. Ladybug rolled her eyes but tossed her yo-yo up in the air anyways. 

"Lucky charm!"

A coil of rope fell into her hands. "Well, that's helpful," she remarked dryly. 

Suddenly, there was a thud on the opposite side of the chimney. Ladybug and Chat exchanged a nervous glance as one of the white, solid-material minions appeared, raising its arm the minute it reached the other side and pointing at where the two were huddled against the chimney. She squeezed her eyes shut, finding Chat's hand and holding it tightly as they braced for the inevitable impact, but none came.

Letting go of his hand, she opened her eyes to feel what felt like a gust of air hitting her face exactly from where the monster was pointing it's arm. "Oxygen," she and Chat said at the same time. Clutching her red-and-black rope in her hands, she turned to her partner with a wide grin. "Time to get out your chemistry books, kitty! I have an idea!"

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

With only three spots left on her earrings, Marinette swallowed, desperately hoping that their plan would work. They were taking a serious gamble on it, and the oxygen minion was proving to be more difficult to tote around than they thought. Chat had gone hunting for a nearly identical one, finally finding one and leading it in her direction.

Now, the two kidnapped minions were tied together by the left and right arm by her rope. She had done it so quickly that they hadn't even realized, too big and bulky and stupid, so she had left them to wander about the block searching for them as Chat flagged down Ms. Mendeleiev and brought her towards them. "Ready, Milady?" She heard loudly, his black form going flying over her head and landing gingerly on a balcony to her left. She was perched on the lip of a hotel's roof, ready to spring into action in her brightly-colored suit that she could only hope would do its job. 

"Ready!" She yelled back as Ms. Mendeleiev came into view, her rainbow self filling up the entirety of the street as she looked dead on at the superheroes. 

"Enough hiding from me!" She roared the same time Marinette's earings beeped at her. Only two minutes left. "Let me have your miraculous, Ladybug!"

 _Not a chance_ , Marinette thought, leaping from her spot and landing in front of the hydrogen and oxygen monsters, bonded together by the arms by her rope. They fixated on her and held their bound arms together, training it on her as she leaped in the air directly in front of the large Akuma. _Please work, please work, please work..._

It wasn't at all exact science, but then again, how much did science have to do with the magic that encapsulated Marinette and the very monster she was fighting?

Water came spouting out of their arms as their two gases merged together, shooting off in the direction of Ms. Mendeleiev and causing her to cry out as her gaseous form disappeared. Her hideous rainbow mess of solutions disappeared completely, leaving a very-rainbow looking, very human-sized version sopping wet on the street. 

In her hand was a beaker. "Left hand, Chat Noir!" She called, zipping her yo-yo around the solid figure and trapping her arms to her side. 

"Cataclysm!" He yelled, swooping in from nowhere and just barely touching the glass flask. It crumbled into a thousand rusted pieces, a single black butterfly flying out. 

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as her earrings beeped one last time. One minute. 

"Time to de-evilize!" She cried, swiping open her yo-yo and capturing it like she'd done so many times before. "Gotcha."

The hydrogen and oxygen minions collapsed into a heap a few feet away. In a hurry, she untied them and tossed the rope into the air. "Miraculous ladybug!"

Everything returned to normal in a swarm of pink light and red bugs. The rainbow, colorful streets turned back into their drab selves, the various elemental minions once more returning into their humanoid states. Marinette realized that the oxygen minion that had attacked them in the first place was none other than Alya. 

Before her friend could badger her into an interview and capture her earrings running out mid-report, Marinette had to go.

Chat noir turned in her direction, fist outstretched, but she shot him a fleeting glance and took off to the roof he'd left her on as Marinette, hoping he'd understand why she was leaving so quickly. The minute her feet touched the ground her disguise disappeared, leaving her very tired and with an equally exhausted kwami in her hands. "That was too close," Tikki said, closing her eyes and settling into Marinette's bag. "I deserve extra cookies today."

"And you'll get them, Tikki. Don't worry, we won't have any more close calls like that again." Marinette closed her little purse and patted it once, settling down with her back against the chimney and allowing herself to breathe. Adrenaline and anxiety were still pulsing through her, and she knew from experience it wouldn't go away for a bit. 

Below her, Alya had regained her senses and was filming a video of Chat Noir as he explained what had happened in the way only he could— that is to say, overly dramatic and with far more credit to himself than in actuality. But Marinette was fine with it, after all, it really was his idea in the end that had saved them.

When Alya had stopped filming, she put her phone away and said something to Chat that made him laugh. "Really?" She heard him say, followed by a string of words she couldn't make out. He waved bye to Alya and then turned his attention to the roof where Marinette sat. She squeaked and ducked behind the chimney once more, hoping he didn't see her spying on them. 

There was the sound of feet hitting tile and the mechanical whirring of his pole shortening. "Marinette?" Chat's voice sounded from the opposite side of the chimney. "Are you still here?"

She poked her head out nervously, hoping he didn't realize he was just here with Ladybug. "Uhh, yeah! I was hiding in that, uh—" she swiveled her head around, hoping there was some maintenance shed she could pretend she was in. Sure enough, a tiny, 4 foot by 4 foot square of metal was located on the far end of the roof, opposite to the chimney. "That shed over there! Where they keep, the, uh, building holiday decorations!"

"Holiday decorations?" Chat asked, cocking an eyebrow as he appeared on the opposite side of the chimney, hand outstretched. "Come on, I've got to get you home quickly. My ring's about to run out."

"Oh, no it's okay, my friend's down there, I should really just go and talk to her!" Marinette said. Chat knew where she lived— he'd visited her weeks ago on the night Adrien turned them down for ice cream— but it was farther away than he thought, and she really didn't want to know who he was. And Alya looked dazed and confused. "If you could just drop me off down there, that would be lovely."

"Oh, alright." He lifted her into his arms. "By the way, a little butterfly told me that you're having a debate in your class tomorrow."

Marinette froze as he leaped off the building, landing neatly on the sidewalk. "W-who told you that?" She squeaked as he helped her regain her balance. 

"A cat never reveals his sources," he said, winking one of his ridiculously green eyes, but Marinette noticed that he glanced in Alya's direction. "But maybe you should. A citation from the superhero himself on a report about him? Can't get any better than that."

"Okay then, Chat Noir," Marinette said, trying to calm herself down. So what if Chat knew she was supposed to talk about how great he was, at least he didn't know she was Ladybug. And it wasn't like she chose it, either, Adrien did. "Why do you think you're better than Ladybug?"

"Lotsa reasons," he said, drumming his black-gloved fingers against his chin. His ring beeped just then, causing him to jump. "Oops, sorry, but I got to high-tail it out of here. Maybe we can talk later."

"Later?" Marinette asked as he gave her one more Cheshire smile and then leaped out of view, bounding over roofs and balconies and out of view to where she wouldn't know his identity.

Not really caring to know what 'later' meant, Marinette turned to see Alya looking around nervously. "Girl, I didn't get akumatized, did I?"

"No, Ms. Mendeleiev did," Marinette responded, giving her a hug. "You were turned into a minion. But don't worry, in the end you ended up helping Ladybug and Chat Noir anyways!"

"How do you know? I thought you were hiding at the school," Alya frowned, raising one of her manicured eyebrows. 

Marinette laughed nervously. "I decided I wanted to come watch the action for myself for once, but then I saw you get hit and had to make sure you were okay after!"

"Oh. Well, I'm relying on your accounts for the ladyblog, then, Chat Noir is not usually one to tell things as they are." She shrugged, seeming pleased with Marinette's answer. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened to Ms. Mendeleiev?"

The purple-haired teacher was still sitting on the sidewalk, looking confused as she glanced at the beaker in her hands. "Marinette, my student," she called out when she saw them looking at each other, "was I akumatized?"

"Yes," Marinette replied, pacing over and resting a calm hand on her shoulder, realizing that these interactions normally occurred when she was in her red-and-black superhero suit. "You turned into an evil monster made of chemicals... do you remember what happened before that?"

"I... a student was doing a lab after school," she murmured, "he didn't care for the directions and was behaving erratically... I tried to get him to stop, but he was obsessed with making explosions... it just made me so angry that I gave him a 0 for the lab! When people don't respect my rules, I get so frustrated..."

"I see," Marinette said. She really did get upset at the littlest things, but it sounded as if this time it was out of concern rather than just plain meanness. "Ms. Mendeleiev, do you think you can get back to the school on your own? Or do you want me to call someone?"

"I'm alright, just embarrassed is all," their normally stoic professor said. "Thank you, Marinette. You always were one of my favorite students."

Alya scoffed behind her. "What about me?"

"Uh, sure," Ms. Mendeleiev said. "I really must be getting back now. Bye, girls, please don't forget the report due tomorrow."

"Of course," Marinette said, waving as she began to walk slowly and carefully back towards the school. 

Alya clapped a hand onto Marinette's forearm, causing her to jump. "Come on, let's go back to the school to get our stuff. You can tell me all about the attack on the way there."

Marinette smiled tightly and followed after their teacher towards the school, wondering how she would recount the tale without giving away that she partook in it. "Alright," she conceded, bracing for a long story and lots and lots of questions. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

"Marinette, what are you going to do?" Tikki asked her, perched atop a pile of her parents' freshly-baked cookies. "You only have one point to make in the debate tomorrow, and it's not even that good."

Marinette groaned and leaned back into her folding chair. She was sitting on her rooftop balcony, looking out over the brightly lit Parisian night and desperately trying to think of something to say in her debate tomorrow.

Alya had been absolutely no help. All she wanted to do was talk about the Akuma attack following the events of that afternoon, citing the debate as far less important than her scoop for her blog. Even Marinette's parents had drawn a blank— it never occurred to them that Ladybug and Chat Noir could ever be compared to each other in such a setting. So far, her yo-yo and baton point was the only reasonable thing she'd come up with, and, as Tikki said, was not very solid. 

"I don't know, Tikki!" She conceded, staring at her notebook paper. 'Chat Noir > Ladybug' was written at the top in elaborately drawn letters, pawprints and cat whiskers decorating the margins around it. She had hoped that inspiration would strike her as she labeled her notes, but none came. "I can't think of anything. He and Ladybug are just so different, but at the same time, neither is better than the other!"

"I believe in you, Marinette," her kwami said reassuringly. "You're a smart girl. You can think of something."

"I've been trying to think of something for the last hour," she groaned in response. "That cat is just so-"

"So what?" A familiar voice asked as a black-clad figure landed on her balcony's railing. "Are you talking to yourself, purrincess?"

Marinette panicked as Tikki flew into the pillow behind her, hoping it was too dark for him to see. "Uhm. Yes! I was rehearsing my debate opening tomorrow," she said quickly. "The one I mentioned before!"

"And I told you we'd speak later," he said, leaping down from the railing and sitting at her feet. "Whatcha got so far? Tell me why you think I'm better than my Lady partner." He was practically purring, his face in a content smile with his eyes closed, ready to hear the praise spout from Marinette's mouth.

"As if," she muttered, giggling as his eyes popped open and he gazed at her in annoyance. "I have one point right now, and it's about your weapon, not you."

If he wasn't so cocky, Marinette would have felt bad for how crestfallen he looked. "What?"

"Your baton," she said, pointing her pink pen to where it rested at his hip. "It's far more useful than the yo-yo, in my opinion."

"That's the only thing you can think of?" He mused, rising and striking a dramatic pose. "What about how much nicer-looking my costume is? Or how dreamy my eyes are? And are you neglecting the fact that I've saved Ladybug more times than you can count on your fingers-"

"And she's saved you just as many times," Marinette countered. "Chat, come on, surely you can think of something reasonable. I really need to have good points in this, or else-"

"Or else what?" He asked. "Who is your partner?"

"Adrien Agreste," she replied quietly. "I don't think I can beat him no matter how good my reasons are, but it won't help to have a solid argument anyways."

"Why don't you think you can beat him?" Chat asked. "Is he super smart?"

"No! Well, yes, I think, but it's not because of that." Marinette shook her head. "Just, forget it and help me think. Why are you better than Ladybug?"

"Because..." he bit his lip as he thought. Marinette was glad he'd dropped the Adrien subject so quickly. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Because I interact with the people."

"You... what?"

"I interact with them." He pulled out his baton and typed something in, holding out for Marinette to see. It was a picture from the day their statue was released, no Ladybug in sight. 

She grimaced. That was a dark day for her— she'd neglected to show up and in turn hurt the feelings of the artist's designer, who had a bit of a crush on her. "I actually go to the press conferences and news broadcasts and always answer the questions of that ladyblog girl. She's either late or doesn't show up at all or has some sort of excuse about how we can't reveal anything about ourselves." Chat rolled his eyes. "It's so annoying! I just want to tell everyone my favorite candy, but she's like, 'no Chat, then Hawkmoth will find out who we are!'" 

As he quoted her, his voice got high pitched and annoying. Marinette giggled. She had said that. "Alright, Chat Noir interacts with fans. That's a good point— connecting with the people of Paris is a good thing." _I'll have to do that more often._

"See, I am good for something after all," Chat purred, sitting down and resting his back against her railing's bars. "Need any more intel from me? Perhaps... dirt on Ladybug for your counterarguments?"

As much as Marinette wanted to hear his 'dirt,' she laughed and waved him off. "No, in fact, a third point just came to me. Your help isn't needed anymore."

He looked offended again. "Come on, I snuck out of my house to help you and you're blowing me off after one measly little point? Let me hear your new one."

"Nope, you don't need to know what I think of you," Marinette said. "I need to go do some research. Have a nice night, Chat, maybe go find some other girl to annoy."

"I annoy you?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned as she swung her legs over the side of the chair, nearly knocking over the gigantic pile of cookies sitting on a platter on the ground where Tikki was just eating them. 

"Oh, no, I was just joking," Marinette said quickly. "Your help is much appreciated. I'm very thankful."

Chat smiled, and Marinette wondered if his concern was an act to garner sympathy and even more compliments. "I'll be dying to know how this debate of yours goes tomorrow. Will you let me know?"

"If I see you again." Marinette shrugged, cracking open the trap-door that lead to her room. "Bye now, Kitty."

"Bye, Marinette," he said, dramatically twirling and taking her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her knuckle. "Good luck in the debate. Win it for me."

She rolled her eyes to hide how flustered she was. This happened all the time when she was Ladybug, but as Marinette? Why the sudden display of affection? "If I win it, it won't be for you. And don't get your hopes up."

"You'll do great. Good night!"

And with that, he jumped into the air, yelling out "and a flip!" as he somersaulted out of view, the harsh sound of his pole hitting the pavement following and then whoops of joy as he catapulted over the roofs and buildings of their city. Marinette smiled as Tikki emerged once more. "That was nice of him to come," she said. 

"I think he just wanted me to inflate his ego," Marinette replied, "but it was nice of him to check up on me. But come on, Tikki, we have a chemistry report to write!"

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

"Thank you, Alya, thank you, Sabrina." Madame Bustier turned to face the class, the two girls flanking her on either side, notecards in each hand. "Class, we will now have a vote to decide the winner of this debate. While it is easy to vote on the topic you agree with most, I implore you to consider the strength of the arguments presented today and vote on that instead."

"All who believe that Sabrina should be the winner, please raise your hand," she instructed. Chloe— of course— raised her hand, but was the only one. Sabrina had talked only of the elegance and high society that came with a noble class with no consideration whatsoever for the benefits the people of a country would have, as was their topic. Ballgowns and crowns and castles were fun to talk about, but Alya had shot that notion down quickly. 

"And all who believe Alya and democracy should be the winner?" The rest of the class raised their hands, Marinette and Nino's hands higher than everyone else's. Madame Bustier clapped her hands together, beaming down at Alya to her right. "Well, then, our first debate winner is Miss Alya Cesaire. Congratulations— up next, Marinette and Adrien!"

Marinette swallowed nervously. Alya had volunteered to go first, so Marinette had just assumed everyone else would be going on a volunteer basis too. "You'll do great," Alya whispered to her as she settled back into her seat, a new air of confidence around her. "I can feel it."

"Good luck, Marinette," Adrien said in front of her, turning around and smiling. "You're going to need it."

"You have no idea," she muttered in response, pulling out her neatly organized notecards and following the blonde to the front of the class. Two tables were set up next to eachother in place of Madame Bustier's usual desk. Adrien took the one to the left. 

"Do you want to go first?" He asked kindly. Marinette nodded quickly.

The way the debates were set up were simple— each student had 5 minutes to share their three points, one after the other, with the closing being a 5 minute 'crossfire' where they could respond to eachother freely. Marinette figured she would do fine in her presentation, but actually arguing with Adrien was going to be bad. At least if she went first she may not be so nervous.

"Alright, then, Marinette, whenever you're ready."

Marinette cleared her throat and stood up, fighting the urge to glance at Adrien and instead staring intently at her notecards. 

"Chat Noir and Ladybug, the two heros of Paris, cannot be compared." Marinette paused for dramatic effect, looking up and making eye contact with as many students she could. Alya gave her an encouraging thumbs-up. "That being said, there are a few differences that set one apart from another. While both Chat Noir and Ladybug are a blessing to us in the scary time we live in, with akumas lurking around every corner, neighbor turning on neighbor, Chat Noir possesses a few qualities that set him apart and above his spotted counterpart."

There. That was the hardest part— Marinette fought the urge to roll her eyes the entire time while writing it, but a strong introduction was the key to a well-constructed argument. "First of all, Chat Noir's baton is far more useful in combat than Ladybug's yo-yo."

From there, Marinette launched into her explanation about why a classic weapon was better than a magical circle on a string. "While it is easy to argue that the yo-yo has more uses outside of combat, Ladybug often has to rely on her lucky charm to effectively demobilize or take down an Akuma." She smiled at Madame Bustier, watching carefully in the corner of the class. Addressing a counterargument was an entire day's worth of learning.

"Secondly, Chat Noir interacts far more with the people of Paris," Marinette added through gritted teeth. If she could think of anything better than what that cat said, she would have included it. "One instance of this is when Théo Barbot created a statue of the two and Chat Noir was the only one to attend the opening ceremony."

Marinette continued on with Chat's point, growing rather tired of speaking about how great he was. Perhaps if she wasn't Ladybug it would be easier, but she was, and they saw each other every day. He would never know it was her saying all those things, but still... "Another way that Chat Noir interacts more with fans is via Alya Cesaire's Ladyblog." Alya beamed from her seat, giving Marinette two thumbs up once more. "Despite the namesake, he participates in more interviews and provides more quotes than Ladybug has by a ratio of 5 to 2, according to my calculations."

Marinette shuffled her notecards around. It was time for her third and final point. "The final reason why Chat Noir is better than ladybug is because he's unconventional and just downright stupid sometimes." 

She smirked, pausing for a second so that it could sink in on everyone's face. She even dared sneak a glance at Adrien, whose jaw had dropped in shock. Certainly he didn't have a counterargument for that. "Allow me to explain," she added, still smiling. "We all know Ladybug is reasonable and calculating. Her lucky charm gives her the most random of items, yet she still always finds a way to use them. She represents creation, the ability to make random objects and make them work in creative, useful ways.

"Chat Noir, however, is the superhero of destruction. His power grants him the ability to destroy everything he touches. If Ladybug is creative on finding ways to use her creations to help, Chat is good at finding ways to break things. Which he does. A lot." She winked. "It's these outlandish and sometimes downright foolish ideas that, eventually, end up helping the duo in the long run. While Ladybug's caution and precision is sometimes warranted, that is only one half of the yin-yang. She requires Chat Noir's capriciousness to balance her out, and, in my opinion, it is this whimsical side of him that makes him more valuable.

"Take yesterday, for example."

Marinette launched into an explanation of all the times Chat did something stupid that ended up helping them— all the times, for example, when he was taken over by villains yet still proved useful to Ladybug— finishing with the events of yesterday. "While not necessarily a stupid idea, it was still an unconventional one that ladybug hadn't thought of. How do I know this? I asked her myself."

With only thirty seconds left to go on her timer, she pulled out her phone and clicked on the recording she'd filmed of herself talking. "Chat Noir? While I wouldn't say he's better than me, without him we wouldn't have beaten the Chemimonster yesterday. I'm forever grateful for his eccentric ideas and don't know what I would do if he wasn't my partner."

Marinette clicked it off and smiled broadly. "This concludes my presentation on why Chat Noir is not better than Ladybug, but why he is more important— the two could never function without the other, but in their dynamic, he is more integral to their success."

The class erupted into applause and fascination, her Ladybug citation having the desired effect. She sat back down happily— it didn't matter how badly she would mess up the crossfire, there was no way Adrien could top a direct quotation from Ladybug herself on why Chat was better than her. 

As much as it hurt her ego.

"Adrien, you have 5 minutes," Madame Bustier said as Marinette's debate partner stood up and gave her a confident smile, something she wasn't expecting. As she sunk into her seat, she blushed, hoping the rest of the class didn't notice. 

"Thank you, Madame Bustier." He shuffled around his notecards. Much like hers, the first one was labeled with "Ladybug," only instead of being surrounded by paws and cat whiskers, there were hearts. 

"It's easy to argue why Ladybug is more useful than Chat Noir when it comes to dealing with Akumas. Chat Noir can't de-evilize them, thus, without Ladybug, Paris would be overrun by akumas like when Stoneheart was not thoroughly dealt with." Adrien smiled at the class. "Thus brings me to my first point— Ladybug is infinitely more useful than Chat Noir due to her ability to absolve akumas of their evil and ensure that Paris remains the city it is today."

Marinette grinned to herself— she knew Adrien was going to make this point. She had two notecards worth of counters. 

"My second point," Adrien said a few moments later, "is that Ladybug is far more responsible than Chat Noir and is strictly committed to doing her job. Being a superhero to her is not fun and games the way it is to Chat— it's a serious task. She has no time for his shenanigans."

Marinette suddenly felt very guilty. Adrien seemed to believe she was a no-nonsense party pooper who treated Chat Noir like a child— was she? Or, at the very least, is that what people believed her to be?

She'd mentioned her practicality in her own presentation, but to hear it from Adrien's lips was an entirely different thing. When she'd mentioned it, it'd been to highlight the part of Chat that she loved— that part of his personality that she so lacked in her rationality sometimes. 

"This pragmatic approach is what allows Ladybug to be such an efficient superhero." Adrien's eyes had a glint to them Marinette had never seen before— his third point must be something great. Maybe he would compare her to a strict school teacher next and say that's why she was so great. Maybe he would call Ladybug "Paris' Mother" or something weird like that, because clearly, he saw her as a plain, boring figure good for nothing other than saving them.

"My third and final point is best illustrated by video form," Adrien said, pulling out his phone. He glanced at where Marinette sat. "I swear, this wasn't planned. I had no idea that you had a quote from Ladybug."

Marinette wrinkled her brow. What did he mean?

"Oh, Ladybug?" She heard come from Adrien's phone. It was angled away from her, but she recognized that confident air anywhere. He had interviewed Chat Noir.

"She's so much better than me. If something happens to me, she can still save the day. Without her, Paris is screwed... I can't de-evilize akumas."

 _What point are you trying to make here, Adrien?_ Marinette wondered. It just sounded like Chat was re-inforcing his other two points, not making any new ones. 

The answer came only seconds after Marinette thought about it. "The real reason why Ladybug is better than me is simple... it's because she's a role model to everyone."

It was completely unexpected. Adrien clicked off his phone and looked around at everyone. "To elaborate on what my friend Chat Noir said, Ladybug is far more important to Paris than Chat Noir because of the role she has played in inspiring our population. She's the figure of inspiration for people, be it everyday high school students like Nathaniel and Marc or large scale artists like Théo Barbot. Not only that, but she is a role model for young women and girls everywhere, proving that they can be super, too, not just boys."

The class applauded as Adrien took a seat, leaving Marinette rather confused. Could he really not think of another reason? "Your 5 minute crossfire starts now," Madame Bustier said. Everyone seemed to lean closer in excitement. 

"Marinette, the first point of yours I'd like to refute is the first one you made about Chat Noir's baton. Do you honestly think that a stick is more useful than a grappling hook, rope, projectile, and shield all in one?" Adrien said calmly, slightly angling himself so that he was still facing the class yet turned towards Marinette at the same time. She tried aimlessly to collect herself.

"Ah, yes! Well, no, well, the baton, see, is... a baton..." Marinette stumbled over her words nervously as he stared intently at her, his green gaze boring a hole in her. Desperate to look away from it, she turned instead to look at Alya, who held up the pathetically shopped photo of Adrien as Chat Noir.

"Is...that all?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow. 

It was worth a shot.

She turned her head and blurred her vision, trying to pretend that Adrien was not Adrien and was instead Chat. Perhaps they did look alike...

"No, that's not all," she said clearly, still avoiding him. _I'm talking to Chat Noir. I'm not talking to Adrien_. "The baton is far more useful in combat situations, as I previously said. Ladybug's yoyo is not useful for anything other than a shield in combat, thus, she must rely on hand-to-hand combat, which can be restricted depending on the Akuma's effects."

"Hm. Alright," Adrien— _no, Chat Noir,_ Marinette thought— said. "I suppose the weaponry is a matter of opinion."

"Speaking of matters of opinion," Marinette began. This would be easy— she replayed Chat Noir's voice in her head as she spoke. It was just like talking to him as Ladybug. "Yes, Ladybug is an inspiration to young girls and boys alike, but so is any person in power. You could make the case that Audrey Bougeious is an inspiration due to her gender and power in the world. This doesn't make her any better than Chat, who's just as influential."

"Oh, really?" Adrien said in a cocky way that sounded just like her partner. He was making this rather easy. "Because according to last Halloween's edition of Le Parisien Newspaper, for every child dressed as Chat Noir there were 3 ladybugs."

Marinette didn't know that. She supposed there would be one child out there dressing up as her, but that many? "How many children specifically?" She asked. 

"Of the 2,500 children randomly selected and surveyed, 36% of all children were dressed up as Ladybug or Chat Noir, with 75% being girls." Adrien beamed at her. "So, as you can see, she is at least more respected by the citizens of Paris."

"That's not true," Marinette said, shaking her head. "Or at the very least, it shouldn't be. They're a team— a duo, like peanut butter and jelly or like Minnie and Mickey. You can't just pick one over the other."

"But Paris has," Adrien said. "Additionally, allow me to refute your final claim. In multiple cases, Chat Noir's idiocy has garnered him into questionable situations, like when Kim was akumatized into Dark Cupid and turned Chat Noir into the evil, angry version of himself. He very nearly used his cataclysm on Ladybug, thus proving that—"

"That's enough," Marinette interrupted, avoiding his gaze and the questioning stares of everyone else in the class. "We shouldn't be ranking one over the other. This debate is stupid and unfair. Ladybug can't function without Chat Noir and vice versa."

"I disagree, because-"

"No." 

Marinette stood up and dropped her notecards onto the desk. "I'm done, I concede the debate. I'm not going to argue about why Chat Noir is better than Ladybug any more."

"Marinette, this is a grade," Madame Bustier said. "If you concede, you can't win and get an A."

"I don't care." Marinette looked directly at her teacher. "The two have done so much for us and I'm ashamed I even argued in the first place— it's completely ridiculous. I'm not debating on this."

"But Marinette—" Alya piped up, as did a number of other students. 

Adrien turned and looked at her thoughtfully. Marinette tried to ignore it but felt heat rise to her cheeks anyway. "You know, Marinette's right," Adrien conceded. "We shouldn't be arguing about which superhero is better than the other."

"Adrien, not you, too," Madame Bustier said exasperatedly. "What's going on here?"

"Chat Noir is my friend," Marinette said. "He saved me yesterday and has before. I've helped him on missions. Ladybug is a friend of mine, too, and I wouldn't argue about why Nino was better than Alya."

"Yeah, right," Chloe said. "If Ladybug's your friend then Chat Noir's my boyfriend."

"That's not true at all," Adrien said quickly, "Chat Noir likes Ladybug. Everyone knows that."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Of course he does. Back to the matter at hand, though— I'm not debating about this. Adrien, y-you win." 

"No. I concede, too. Marinette wins."

"Both of you," Madame Bustier said curtly, "it's very noble of you to stop your assignment like this, but I'm afraid I can't excuse you on a topic just because you're not comfortable speaking about it."

"That's where you're wrong, Madame," Marinette said. "Ladybug and Chat Noir help us. The fact that the topic you gave us made us rank one over the other is what's inexcusable. Would you rank a firefighter over a police officer? Or a heart surgeon over a neurosurgeon?"

Adrien clapped a hand on Marinette's shoulder, causing her to jump. "I one hundred percent agree with Marinette. I'm sure Chat Noir and Ladybug appreciate it too, wherever they are."

There was silence as the class turned and looked at their teacher, waiting for her decision to either expel them or commend them. 

"Well," she said, pacing to the front of the class and stopping in front of Marinette and Adrien, "I admire your efforts and your adhesion to your morals. While this debate may not have gone like how I wanted it to, when arguing with me about why you shouldn't do it, you demonstrated many of the things I've taught you." Madame Bustier was smiling now. "You both get an A for the project, but I would still like to see your notes, please."

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Madame," she said in unison with Adrien, who winked at her once more. 

As she returned to her seat, Alya gave her a look she couldn't quite place. "Why didn't you tell me you had Ladybug on speed dial?" She hissed to her as Madame Bustier called up Chloe and Alix to the debate tables. 

"It... never came up?" Marinette said nervously, settling into her seat as Alix began to speak on why cats were better than dogs with minimal Chat Noir references. "Why, do you need something from her?"

Madame Bustier, now watching from a desk pushed to the front corner of the room, shot Marinette a warning glare. She pressed her mouth into a thin line, getting the message and shutting up.

 **I just want to ask her a million questions!** Alya wrote in her notebook, discreetly sliding it Marinette's direction. Marinette shook her head, writing in response **She's not going to tell you how old she is or anything, Alya.**

Their little conversation in ink continued throughout Alix and Chloe's debate, ending when the bell sounded and the class began to pack up their things. "Thank you all for your patience and for your attention today. All remaining groups will go on Monday— have a great weekend, class!" Madame Bustier called to them as the students clambered out. 

"I have to go get my sisters from school. Nora's out of town at a tournament again," Alya complained. "Text me later, though, we aren't done with this conversation!"

"What conversation?" Nino asked in front of them, a lazy hand resting against his backpack's strap as he waited for his girlfriend. "Lemme guess, is it about Marinette's friendship with Ladybug?"

"Yeah, Marinette, how do you know both superheroes like that?" Adrien asked. "That's so cool. But I'm really not surprised, of course you'd be friends with Paris' superheroes."

Marinette blushed. "I-I well, they..."

Alya jumped in to save the day. "Marinette knows everyone, haven't you realized? Of course she'd know Ladybug and Chat Noir. Remember when she got me that Ladybug interview for my blog? I still don't know how she did it!" 

"That's so cool. Do you think... I could meet her?" Adrien asked, following behind as Alya lead her out of the classroom, Nino flanking her on the right. "I'm a big fan, is all."

 _Adrien's a big fan of me?_ Marinette panicked and looked at Alya, who shrugged. _This is on you,_ she seemed to say to her as she and Nino walked away, leaving a very flustered Marinette outside the classroom's door. 

"I... well... s-she's very busy-"

"Do you know her identity?" Adrien asked almost giddily. "What's she like?"

"I don't," Marinette managed to say. As flattering as it was to know that Adrien liked her alter-ego, which he was making more and more apparent as the days went on, she really didn't care to feed his enthusiasm about finding out her secrets. 

He looked defeated. "That's too bad. I really want to know what she's like."

"You've met her before though, haven't you?" Marinette blurted out. He had multiple times before. "Isn't that enough? She rescued you from that Riposte villain just the other day."

Adrien nodded. "Right, but that's when there's an akuma... I want to hang out with her like a friend, you know? But I'm sure she's too busy for that." 

He sighed. Adrien sounded like he knew way more about Ladybug than Marinette expected, and she was a bit dumbfounded. It would be so easy right then and there to say it— _I'm Ladybug! I am your friend!_ — but she knew that could never happen. "I. I have to go," Marinette said, pointing to the exit. "Bakery," she managed to stutter out, then gave him one last parting, nervous smile and speed-walked out of there. 

Adrien called after a goodbye of sorts, but she barely heard it.

 _Today was so weird,_ she thought to herself as she walked through the school's entrance, reminded of when she had to fight her teacher the day before. _All I want is one normal, uneventful night. Please don't let there be an Akuma._

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Hours passed with no glowing butterflies appearing on citizens' faces, and Marinette was forever grateful. She had so much homework to catch up on, plus a few designs she had been meaning to sketch out for forever. Finally, it seemed like she had time to herself. 

As she stitched away at what would be a dress for her she already knew she was too scared to wear, her mind drifted back to the odd events of Madame Bustier's class.

From the very beginning, she had trouble coming up with reasons why Chat Noir was better than her, not because she was selfish or egotistical, but because there weren't any. Putting aside how morally wrong it was to debate about why one person was better than the other when both did so much for Paris— which wasn't an egotistical thing to say, for it was true— he really was an invaluable part of her existence as Ladybug. Perhaps if she was just a normal student whose only information about them came from the news and the ladyblog, she'd have a different opinion, but she interacted with Chat almost every day. He really was her best friend, and despite not even knowing her name or anything about her, he understood her better than anyone else. How many other teens could say they had homework and an alternate life as a superhero to balance? 

Tikki, who was snoozing in Marinette's bed while the latter relaxed on her rooftop balcony, had been very pleased with the outcome of the debate. "You did the right thing, Marinette," she had praised her. "I was never on board with the idea. Ladybug and Chat Noir are one in the same, not two parts that can be compared."

Part of her still felt guilty for even thinking about it, for the thought had never occurred to her that she was more useful than Chat. Yes, she could de-evilize things, but so what? He had to do a lot of the grunt work for her to get that far. The only times she'd ever defeated villains without his help was when she had help from other miraculous holders like Alya or Nino. 

"How'd your debate go, Purrincess?" That voice asked her, interrupting the quiet tranquility of her sewing and causing her to drop the dress into her lap. "Oops, didn't mean to startle you."

"It barely went at all," Marinette said, turning her head to look at him. He was sitting on the railing, dangling his legs towards her with his back resting against the brick side of her home's roof. She wasn't exactly expecting him, but his sudden appearance wasn't much shock to her all the same. 

Chat Noir grinned. "Adrien told me. It's very nice of you, you know. Ladybug and I don't like being compared to eachother."

 _And how would you know that?_ "I know."

Marinette sighed when he didn't immediately respond. "It was a dumb idea in the first place. You can't rank people."

"Especially when those people are two amazing superheroes," Chat said. "Although, I still would like to hear your stance on it... my ego could use some inflation today."

"Not a chance, Kitty," Marinette giggled. "I wouldn't risk Ladybug's wrath."

Chat laughed, too. "What did that Adrien boy do?"

"He seemed to really like Ladybug," Marinette said. "I don't know. He would have continued if I didn't stop it, I think, but in the end it seemed like he was okay, too."

His eyes widened. "You think he likes Ladybug? Sounds like I have some competition."

"Yeah." Marinette tapped her fingers against her chin. "Say... you went behind my back and helped Adrien. What else did you say about the debate to him?"

"Behind your back?" Chat asked, genuinely looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The video you recorded for him?" Marinette said slowly. "Where you talk about how great Ladybug is?"

"Well, Ladybug recorded one for you, too," he said bitterly. "I mean, Adrien said."

"As far as I know, Ladybug didn't help Adrien on his debate," Marinette pointed out. 

"Are you close with Ladybug?"

"Are you close with Adrien?"

The two just stared at each other, neither wanting to answer the other's question, it seemed. Last time Marinette told someone she was close with Ladybug, it had lead to Adrien's insane questioning. She really didn't care to muddle her personal life and her superhero life any longer— talking to Chat as Marinette was enough. 

"Adrien is... a very close friend of mine," Chat said.

"Ladybug is... a friend of mine," Marinette said quietly. "She doesn't want a lot of people knowing that, though. I made a mistake using her in my debate today."

"I can see that. She's very strict about the overlap between public and personal lives." Something in the way that he said it— so strikingly similar to what Adrien had said that day— made Marinette wince. 

She looked away from him, hoping he didn't notice the personal offense she took. "About that," she started, "one of Adrien's points today was that Ladybug was valuable because of her pragmaticism and rationality. I know that sounds nice, but do you think she's... too stuck up? Or that she takes herself too seriously?"

"What? Not at all," Chat Noir responded, sounding genuinely hurt in a way that didn't make sense to her. "I can see how she's serious about stuff, and how an outsider like Adrien could think that, but I don't think she's stuck up or anything at all. She's smart. No— brilliant. And while I wish sometimes she'd let me know just a little bit about her, I totally get why she wants us to keep our identities secret, and I respect that."

Marinette was used to hearing these sorts of things from him, but she always imagined that it was a personal thing— hardly the sorts of emotions he'd blurt out to random strangers, yet here he was. "And I don't think that's what Adrien meant at all," he added after a few beats of silence.

"What sorts of things do you want to know about her?" Marinette dared to ask. "T-that she doesn't want to share?"

Chat Noir sighed dreamily and leaned back against the rails. "Anything," he mused. "Her favorite color. Her future plans. Her favorite animal. What she'd do if she only had 10 days left on earth. The things she'd bring with her to a deserted island. If her eyes are as bright a blue in real life as they are with magic— and if her hair is really that shiny. If she has freckles. If she has pets."

"That's a lot," Marinette said meekly. "Do you know anything about her?"

"I know her beautiful personality," he responded, "and that she lives in Paris. I have my suspicions about other things, but she's never outright told me much about her life."

Wow. She really had told him that little about herself, hadn't she? And yet he was still hopelessly in love with her?

"But you ask?" She prompted. Chat Noir was staring up at the night sky now— at the bright stars they sat under. There was the slightest breeze, and her undone hair ruffled in the wind, goose pimples appearing on her arm as she shuddered. Before answering, Chat seemed to notice her predicament and was up to his feet in a moment.

"Hold on," he said, ducking under her trap door before she could even protest. Within seconds, he was back, one of her blankets in his hand.

"Thank you," she said quietly as he tenderly draped it over her. Since when was he so caring? And why to her?

"Oh, no problem. My super-hearing doesn't like the noise chattering teeth make." He winked and then continued on where they'd left off. "And I guess I don't— not because I don't want to know, but because I don't want to bother her by asking."

"You think you'd bother her?"

"I think I'd annoy her by asking after she's made it clear she's not going to tell me. So what's the point?" He shrugged, sounding rather nonchalant and perching back up onto the railing, his belt-tail swaying in the wind. "As much as I care for her and want to know, I don't think anything could come from it. Our relationship is superhero partners, and I can respect that."

"But you want something more," Marinette stated, though it was more of a question that she already knew the answer to.

"I want something more," Chat repeated, smiling a cheshire grin at her. "You're perceptive. I don't really know what that would be— I wouldn't want to date her without knowing her name, you know? But at the same time, that would require revealing identities."

"Do you think she'll ever be ready for that?"

Chat, for the first time that night, didn't have an answer. "I don't know," he said, sounding wistful. "I can only hope. I'd reveal myself to her in a second, but then I don't know how she'd take it. My hope is that she'd swoon for my handsome face and strong muscles, then feel compelled to reveal herself, but she's too cool for that to happen. Could you imagine Ladybug swooning?"

He laughed, and it was all Marinette could do to join him, choking out something she hoped didn't sound as fake to him as it did to her. Adrien's face danced through her mind, bits and pieces of their terrible conversations accompanying it. At least that meant Chat didn't have any suspicions about her identity, but that did beg a question...

"Why are you here, Chat?" She asked after the laughter had died down and they'd reverted back to their amicable silence. She hoped it didn't sound as mean as it intended— she genuinely wanted to know what he saw in her presence. Not that she was complaining— she quite liked his presence on that quiet Friday evening.

"I was kinda asking myself the same thing," he said, and she felt her face fall for a moment. Upon noticing her reaction, his eyes widened and he hastily shook his hands in front of his face. "Not like that! I just meant that I don't know what it is about you, Marinette- you're very easy to talk to about something I can't bring up to a lot of other people. And I feel like you just get me."

"I feel the same," she managed weakly. 

"Could you imagine what would happen if Alya heard all this? It'd be up on her blog in no time, and then Ladybug would never talk to me again." Another chuckle. Marinette couldn't find herself joining in. 

"Why do you think that?" 

Chat startled out of his laughter at her tone. "Oh, you know. She knows I like her, but honestly, I don't think she knows how much. I'd do anything for her— it's not just a little crush. I think I love her."

Marinette's eyes bugged out from her face. "You don't even know her real name and you love her?"

"I can just feel it, you know? Like when I'm with her... I just know. That she's the one. I don't know how to describe it." He just shook his head. "Has that ever happened to you? Where someone who you barely know does something for you, and it's just like everything's right?"

An umbrella. Blond hair, green eyes. Rain. Gum. A misunderstanding that she should have never been so upset over, looking at him with new eyes. 

"Yes," she practically whispered. 

His eyes clouded over with something. "Then you understand," he murmured, not even really to her, more to himself. "You're very lucky, Marinette— does he or she like you back?"

Marinette shook her head sadly. "No, I don't think so. I can't even talk straight when I'm around him. I just look like an idiot."

"There's no way you could ever look like an idiot," he said earnestly. "You're one of the smartest people I've ever met."

"You think so?" 

"Oh, I know so. Speaking of debates, I'd hate to see one between you and my Lady— you've both got that brilliance and that stubbornnes, to where it would go on for hours before one of you would ever admit you were wrong." He winked at her, and then looked out across the expanse of the Parisian skyline. "I gotta run, Marinette— it's getting late. Thank you for listening to me."

"Of course," she said dumbly, still dwelling on his previous comment.

"Then I'll see you around!"

Another jump, flip, and the sound of metal on stone later, and Marinette was alone.

"You have got to be more careful, Marinette!" Tikki's squeaky voice said nearly as soon as the cat was gone. "If he can see similarities between you two, it's only a matter of time before he figures it out!"

Marinette was silent as her kwami continued. "I know you like his presence, and he seems like a very honorable, kind guy. But you can't tell him your identity! Do you know what could happen if Hawkmoth got a hold of it? He could hurt your friends, your family-"

"Chat wouldn't let the secret out," she said, the first time she was ever truly considering it. Was she lying to him by not telling him her identity and practically grilling him on his feelings? Was she manipulating him?

In all the months that she'd been a superhero, not once had she even considered telling Chat who she truly was. It was just something out of the picture— something that would ruin their relationship no doubt, and something that would interfere with them as partners. But since Chat seemed to like Marinette more than she thought he would— not Ladybug, _Marinette_ — maybe, just maybe they'd work something out.

Because truly, honestly— she knew Chat would never let something like that sort of secret spill. And she was curious about the life that famed, charming Chat Noir lived when he wasn't wearing a black spandex suit. 

"Marinette, don't tell me you're even thinking about this!" Tikki protested as if reading her thoughts, flying out so that she was right in front of Marinette's face. "I know you can trust Chat, but imagine the sorts of things that could happen! What if someone figures it out? Or what if-"

"Tikki, someone could figure out our identities right now if you don't be quieter," Marinette interrupted. "Every day I do things that a perceptive person could piece together to figure out who I really am. All it would take was an eavesdropping person right now and the secret would be out. Why's this any different? Why can't you trust me to make this decision?"

"It just can't be, Marinette," Tikki said sadly. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"But what if lying to him is already hurting both of us?"

"You're not lying about anything. You're just not telling him something. It's different," Tikki insisted, but Marinette just shook her head, an unsettled feeling creeping into her stomach. A lie of omission was exactly that— a lie.

"I don't think it is, Tikki. I like talking to him like this, but I can't help but feel terrible after the fact. If it were me, I'd be mortified... imagine if Ladybug managed to befriend Chat's true identity and spilled all her secrets to him?" Marinette's voice trailed off into a pathetic whisper, the situation leaving her with embarrassment just at the thought. "He doesn't deserve that."

"Then stop talking to him," Tikki said sadly. "I see no good way this can turn out, Marinette. Aren't your interactions as Ladybug and Chat Noir enough?"

Marinette didn't have an answer— or at least one that she wanted to share. Because the truth was she loved talking to Chat like a normal girl without all the unnecessary flirtations. He genuinely was a nice guy, and it was nice to talk to somebody who understood her, even if she wasn't being completely honest...

The wind picked up, ruffling her already tousled hair and making her shiver despite the blanket. "It's getting too late to be out, Marinette," Tikki said softly. "You should sleep. We can talk about this later."

Marinette just sighed. She hated fighting with Tikki— she knew her kwami was just looking out for her. But it still hurt to disagree. Like Chat Noir had said, she was quite stubborn when she thought she was right.

And she couldn't shake the feeling that she was right about this.

"Alright, I guess I should go to bed," she eventually conceded. "Good night, Tikki."

"Good night, Marinette," Tikki replied, still sounding a bit wary. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

The weekend passed without incident. Marinette was too busy to bother broaching the subject with Tikki again, and by the time Monday rolled around, she barely even remembered the conversations that had taken place on her roof that night. Chat Noir was still in the back of her mind— he always was— but the identity dilemma hardly even crossed her mind until Tuesday, when an Akuma struck just as school was getting out.

It was a bus driver, upset at the lack of appreciation they got from their passengers. Marinette had barely avoided being hit by a tire projectile before transforming, and she barely even exchanged words with her partner while they fought the monster. It was a relatively easy to deal with akuma, as akumas went, and she managed to take it down with quite a few beeps left in her earrings.

"Pound it?" Chat asked warily once everything was back to normal, a slight apprehension on his masked face. Marinette, remembering how she'd disappeared last time, bumped her fist with his and shot him a bashful smile.

"Of course. And I'm sorry about last time— I had to go, my earrings were about to run out. As soon as I landed I de-transformed."

"It's no big deal, bug," Chat said. "I know we have to keep them a secret and all. I just thought you were upset with me."

"Why would I ever be upset with you?" She asked, brows furrowed.

Chat twiddled his gloved fingers absentmindedly and looked away from her. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I feel like I annoy you sometimes."

"Chat, you never annoy me," she assured him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Why would you ever think that?"

Marinette honestly didn't know where this was coming from— had she said something to him?

A car whizzed past them just then, the click of a paparrazi's camera reminding them that their conversation was not as private as they thought it was. "Let's go somewhere else," he whispered, extending his stick and nodding in one direction.

A few moments of whizzing through the air later, they were seated on a railing of an empty porch, looking over the vast expanse of the Parisian skyline. It was beautiful this time of day— the sky was slightly grey, just bright enough to let some light in but not too dark or dreary. 

"I was talking with someone recently," he started once they were seated, staring down at his feet rather than at her. "About... my relationship with you. And how I really, really like you and want to get to know you better, but know that you- that we- can't."

"Chat," Marinette breathed, edging closer to him so that their arms were touching. "Why would you think that annoys me? I appreciate the attention, and you know not to go too far with it." She didn't bother bringing up the identity crisis— she still hadn't quite figured that out yet within her own mind. 

"Not that part," he said, much to her chagrin. "Ladybug... I want to know who you are. I want to know what your favorite food is, and what your favorite color is, and how you spend your days when you're not wearing the mask... And I'm scared that that eagerness is going to scare you off. I can't help it. I know you don't feel the same, so maybe that's why I feel like this. But..."

He trailed off, not sure where to go with what he was saying. Marinette leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling him tense at the sudden intimacy.

"Chat," she started. "I've been thinking about our identities recently... about the harm that would come with revealing them. I know it's a terrible idea. I know we can't. But I've thought about it."

"You have?" He said, trying (and failing) to hide the excitement in his voice. 

"I have," she repeated, wishing she could share in his enthusiam. She just felt numb. "We can't, Chat. But I want to. I feel horrible keeping things from you— you're my best friend, and I can't imagine a life without you in it. But for safety— ours, our families', our friends— we can't."

"I know," he said sadly. "But I want to. So bad."

"Me too," she said.

And then they just sat like that for a long while, in a comfortable, wistful silence— two kids who wanted something so close to them, but just out of reach. Who had kwamis who shared the sentiment but feared for the safety of their partner. Who had a city of people there to cheer them on, and a friend group who desperately wanted their human counterparts to finally see what was right in front of them.

But they didn't know any of that, of course.

All they knew was love for one another. In two forms, that was— romantic love and platonic. A love for a friendship and a love for a friend. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Something changed between Ladybug and Chat Noir following their conversation that day. It wasn't anything too noticeable, something the public (see: Alya) caught onto, but they could feel it in their conversations, in their sad glances to one another that they'd share at the end of a long battle or a taxing patrol. Marinette could feel it in the infrequent talks she'd have with Chat as he'd visit her on her balconies, which she begrudgingly began to expect and enjoy, choosing to do her homework on the chilly porch rather than at her desk. She never learned anything new beyond what she learned that first day— they really only talked about nonsense— but each and every time he'd leave her, that same aching feeling settled somewhere in her chest, that she was lying to someone she cared about more and more with each passing day. 

The good news was that not much else changed. There were no new developments with Hawkmoth's plans, and as the weeks turned into months of forlorn glances and melancholic smiles, Marinette was ready for all the gloominess to end. Even Tikki, who'd advised it in the first place, was starting to feel it.

"I can't take it any longer!" She'd cried one day, startling Marinette into dropping her pen mid chemistry worksheet. "What is it going to take for you two to stop acting like somebody died?"

Chat Noir hadn't even been on Marinette's mind just then, but she knew that's who her kwami was talking about. "Nothing, Tikki. We just accepted that we have to have a certain distance between us."

"There's nothing that says you two can't at least be friends when you're in the suits!" Tikki responded, exasperated. "I'm not trying to tear you to apart! I just want you two to be safe! And I know Chat Noir's kwami feels the same way."

"How close can you be to someone when you know nothing about them?" Marinette asked sadly. "Chat Noir and I are best of friends. Nothing is going to change that. But my relationship with him is different from mine with Alya, or with Nino, or even with Adrien, because it's all based on pretense. I'm not Ladybug, Tikki. I'm not a cool superhero. I don't wear a mask when I'm with them. And they don't call me by something that's not my name."

"You are Ladybug, Marinette," Tikki insisted. "You're the same with and without the mask. Is that what's bothering you? That you're afraid Chat wouldn't like you?"

"No!" Marinette retorted, though she couldn't deny the hot flush that came to her cheeks. It had been on her mind— the prospect of his crush falling apart at the realization of her true identity would not be good for her self-confidence. "What's bothering me is that we're both lying to each other. And we both know it, but we can't say anything!"

"Just do it then!" Tikki responded angrily. "Tell him! See what happens!"

"Tikki," Marinette said hoarsely. She'd never seen her normally calm, rational kwami act this way. "You know I can't. And it's not because of your word."

Tikki took a deep, shaky breath in. "I'm sorry," she said in her high voice, looking away from Marinette. "I'm just so sick of you two being sad all the time. I really wish I could help you."

"I know," Marinette sighed. "But I just don't know what to do. I've thought about every possibility, and I can't see a way in which we aren't hurt. Even if Hawkmoth doesn't do anything, what if our relationship gets ruined because of something that happens in real life? What if I hurt him somehow and he can't trust me once we're in our alter-egos?"

Tikki pressed her little kwami lips together and looked away again, looking like she knew more than she was letting on. "I don't think that would happen," she said honestly, "but there are plenty of risks to go along with it. But we've had this conversation countless times. There's nothing more to be done."

Marinette just sighed again— Tikki was right. There was no point debating something they'd already argued about plenty of times before. 

"You're right. Do you know anything about significant figures?"

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

More time passed. Eventually, the warm days of spring melted into those of summer. Nearly 7 months had passed since the fateful debate that had brought her and Chat together. 

Since school got out, she found herself lacking things to do. She sewed. She wrote. She drew. She baked. But nothing felt like it had meaning— she patrolled with her partner, fought off akumas, but still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

And of course she knew what that something was. She felt it in every flirtation her partner sent her way and every conversation she had with Chat— Ladybug or not. 

At that point she didn't even know if he felt it anymore. It seemed like everything had gone back to normal.

Except it hadn't.

It was driving her mad keeping her frustrations within herself— she couldn't broach them to her kwami, she couldn't talk to Chat Noir about it, and she certainly couldn't talk to Alya about it. Everything just felt off, and she couldn't confide in a single person about it.

Chat's identity was on her mind one morning as she sat at a table at a cafe, sipping on rather bitter tea and sketching out random passerby. It was an interesting way to spend her morning, if not a little lonely, and by the time she heard screaming a few blocks away, she had four pages filled of unique looking people who passed by her. 

Tikki was at her side in an instant as she jumped behind a potted plant, calling her spots on as quietly as she could. Not like anyone would notice— most people were up and running already, too afraid to be outside regardless of proximity— but she still had to be careful. You could never know who was truly watching. 

She was up and at the scene in moments, landing softly beside her partner as he watched the situation unfold beneath them. "What's up?" She asked, slightly out of breath from her excursion there.

"Looks like some kind of rejected date," Chat commented, nodding to the monster below them. It was a humanoid, that much was clear, but their skin was a deep red and their hair looked to be made of flowers. Not just any flowers, but red roses.

From their hands there were two chocolate boxes, heart-shaped and looking a few months too late for valentine's day. He was dressed otherwise in a black-and-white tux, and when his eyes fixated onto the pair of superheros above him, his pink eyes narrowed and he held up one of his chocolate boxes, shooting a ray of brown, sweet smelling objects in their direction, leaving the sickening smell of red roses and sugar in their wake. 

"Don't inhale!" Chat said, pulling her along with him and jumping to a new building. When they landed, he gestured to the people below them— people with hearts rather than circular pupils, who flocked towards nonaffected people and offered them gifts of all sorts: roses, bears, rings, chocolates. 

"Definitely a failed date," Ladybug affirmed, dodging out of the way as another ray of chocolatey poison came their way. 

They landed in front of the monster, Ladybug holding her arm in front of her nose and Chat plugging his with his fingers. 

"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" The Akuma roared in his non-human voice. "I am Romantiking, ultimate knower of all things love and desire. I know the very thing that everybody craves, and I will use that to get you to hand over your miraculouses!" 

"Doubtful," Chat said, extending his stick to ward off Romantiking's horde of lovesick minions. "Not even that would work."

"Oh," Romantiking said, a cruel smile painting itself onto his black lips, "what if I told you I could give you what you desire in exchange for that ring?"

"You couldn't!" Marinette interjected, speaking for Chat. "There's nothing that would make us give up our duty. Are you seriously that out of ideas, Hawkmoth?"

"A kiss from your Lady," Romantiking said, ignoring Marinette's outburst. Right before their eyes, the spitting image of Ladybug was conjured by Romantiking. The fake Ladybug sauntered over to Chat Noir, batting her eyelashes and cocking her head. "That is what you want, isn't it?"

"I, uh," Chat stuttered out as the fake Ladybug edged closer to him, smiling flirtatiously. 

"Chat Noir, come on!" Marinette called from a few feet away, narrowly avoiding being hit by a bouquet of roses someone had thrown at her. "I'm over here! It's a fake!"

"But does that matter to him?" Romantiking asked as Chat was utterly stupified by his creation, her lips puckered, eyes closed— 

But her kiss never came. Instead, one of the lovesick was at him, wafting a rose under his nose. Ladybug watched as his pupils changed into hearts, and he turned to the real Ladybug as the clone disappeared, a crazed look in his new eyes.

"Idiot!" Ladybug mumbled under her breath, jumping out of the way of another attack and landing on the overhang of a streetlamp. 

"One down, but I think I'll wait until I have the both of you to take what I desire," Romantiking growled. "What is it that you want, Ladybug? The Ladybug, picture of rationality, strength... a role model. What is it that would make you swoon?"

That word brought her back to that first conversation she had with Chat Noir. She could only hope that this insightful Akuma couldn't figure out about Adrien, because then she'd have some explaining to do after the fact...

Thankfully, he remained perplexed as the lovesick Chat Noir edged closer to her. "Ladybuuuug," he purred, jutting out his bottom lip in pouting, for she was just out of his reach. "Ladybug, come down and kiss me!"

"Not a chance," she said quietly, still watching Romantiking expectantly. She still hadn't figured out what his item was— maybe one of his chocolate boxes? Or one of the roses on his head?

"Oh!" He finally said, causing her to jump a bit. "How sweet. The greatest desire of Ladybug... is someone she can confide in."

"Shut up," Ladybug said, jumping out of the way of Chat's reach as he jumped for her. 

"You mean you don't have a friend to listen to you? Not even your dear partner?"

"I said shut up!" 

She swung her yo-yo at him, but it did nothing, only ripped one of the roses out of his head. "I don't know if I could make that for you, Ladybug. But Hawkmoth is all ears to hear about your troubles..."

Ladybug was practically shaking with rage now, imagining the sorts of outrage that would come from media outlets tomorrow. **Ladybug needs a friend?** They would say, or maybe **Ladybug doesn't trust Chat Noir?**

She landed nimbly on the street, calling for her Lucky Charm with a rage she wasn't sure she'd ever felt before.

"I'd be happy to help you, Miss Ladybug, if only you handed over your miraculous," the Akuma continued. "Imagine the trouble it would save you! No more hiding your identity, no more lies."

"And let such a monster do whatever he pleases with it? No thank you," she spat as a glove fell into her hand. A glove— real helpful.

"It's just one wish," the Akuma replied thoughtfully. "One wish for a life of peace. Everything would be off your chest."

"Ladybuuuug!" Chat's voice said from somewhere.

Tikki's nagging in her head.

Adrien's fascination with Ladybug.

Chloe's mocking that there was no way she could be friends with the superhero.

Every worry, every side effect of being a hero flooded into her brain. Every time she'd ever thought about giving up. Every time she'd ever considered just not calling her spots on, desperate to get more sleep, to stop lying...

She considered it, just for a few seconds.

And that was enough.

"Absolutely not." 

The glove— she looked to her hands, seeing nothing. But then, she glanced to his— to the chocolate boxes, realizing that there was a slight disconnect between his arms and the rest of him. They were gloves, too!

She leapt into the air before he could say anything else, avoiding Chat Noir's outstretched arms and bouncing off the side of an abandoned bus to position herself in proximity to Romantiking. One well-placed yo-yo struck one chocolate box off his hand, and from there she noticed a massive ring on his left hand, glinting in the morning light.

Certainly that was the object. The question was, how did she get it off his hand?

"You figured it out," Romantiking said nonchalantly, positioning his hand with the chocolate box still attached at her. "Too bad that's not going to help you. And look at that— three beeps left on your earrings. What are you going to do, lonesome Ladybug?"

"I am not lonesome," she seethed, jumping out of the way again. But it was to no avail—he anticipated her movement this time, and she saw the stream of sweet smelling objects coming straight at her.

So that was that. An Akuma who'd personally offended her really was her downfall.

She closed her eyes, giving up, and waited for the scent to hit her nose, for her mind to go blank—

But she felt instead the feeling of arms around her, of lips against her cheek as he pushed her out of the way. "Ladybug!" Chat Noir said excitedly, Ladybug trapped within his arms. He puckered his lips together again, and she twisted out of his grasp, feeling both a bit embarrassed and overwhelmingly greatful for pulling her out of the way.

Two beeps on her earrings.

"My own minion ruining my chance," Romantiking lamented. "It's just as well. He got what he wanted, didn't he? Now it should be your turn."

"Hand me over your ring," Ladybug said, her voice shaking. 

"No."

Another blast toward her that she dodged in the opposite direction, faking one way and then jumping just out of the way of his prediction. Taking his surprise as her opportunity, she jumped, landed on the bus she'd used before, and yo-yoed his hand with the box still on it. He scrambled with his other hand to try and free himself, but she jumped down and tackled him, straddling his tangled arms and wrenching his free hand out of the way.

She was breathing hard, and he struggled against her. But she had to get the ring. 

There was no other option.

After what felt like an eternity of wrestling, she wrenched it off. Her eyes shone in triumph as she crushed it within her palm, conjuring the strength from somewhere she didn't know she had. 

A black butterfly fluttered out, which she captured with her untangled yo-yo.

The glove that she'd used forever go was tossed into the air. 

And then everything was fine.

Except for her— she collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. Normally Akuma fights took it out of her physically, but after this one's incessant questioning, she felt emotionally drained. Not to mention the great deal of physical exhaustion that flooded through her, the adrenalin wearing off and leaving her shaking and tired on the street.

"Ladybug?" Chat said once he'd sorted out the Akuma victim— a man whose date had rejected him because he brought the wrong type of flowers. Maybe if he hadn't been so insufferable as a villain, Ladybug would have it in her heart to feel bad for him.

"Ladybug? Are you okay?" Chat repeated.

Ladybug looked up at her partner, back to normal, the look in her eyes telling him that she was very much not okay. 

One beep of her earrings left. 

"Oh, my," Chat said, scooping her up into his arms for a hug. "Let's get you somewhere, okay? Where to?"

"Dupain-Cheng Bakery," she murmured into him, already knowing what was to come.

He didn't question it, just took off in the direction he knew by heart, not even asking questions. 

When they landed on her roof, she collapsed onto her single chair. "Chat, you should go," she started, but it was too late— the pink light of her disguise started to fade away, and he made no intention to leave, just watched as her face came into view, as her spotted suit gave way into her normal clothes. 

Tikki flew out from somewhere within her, landing in Marinette's outstretched hands. "I'm sorry, Tikki," she whispered to the exhausted kwami, who gave her a look as if to say it's alright. 

"Marinette?" Chat asked in disbelief, perched on the rail like he had all those times before. "I-it's you?"

His voice was small, tight. Undoubtedly the way that one's voice would be if they discovered their longtime crush wasn't who they thought they were.

Marinette just nodded slightly, setting Tikki onto her lap and smiling at Chat, sure that it looked weary and drained. "It's me," she whispered.

"After all this time?"

"After all this time." She let out a shaky breath and swallowed. "I-I'm sorry I never told you sooner, or tried to stop talking to you about Ladybug... about me. I felt terrible about lying to you. But I couldn't bring myself to stop."

"All those nights... all those times..."

He sounded utterly in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Chat," Marinette offered softly. "I didn't want you to find out like this. Thank you... thank you for bringing me here, for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I'm sorry if this changes the way that you feel about me."

"No!" He insisted, jumping to his feet, then realizing his outburst, his eyes widening. "I mean... this does change things, but..."

He reached up and rubbed his temples, considering something. Then, he took a deep breath.

"Claws in," he said, and Marinette's eyes widened as green light absorbed his ears, his suit. As his hair shortened and his posture straightened— turning her partner into none other than Adrien Agreste.

"Adrien?" Was all she could manage to get out, though it sounded more like a squeak than a question.

"Hi," he said awkwardly, looking like he didn't quite know what to do with himself, standing on her balcony while she sat. Tentatively, she set Tikki down and rose to her feet, pacing over to him and looking into his eyes, inspecting him to make sure he was, in fact, Adrien. "I..."

"Adrien?" She breathed again. "A-all this time talking to Chat Noir? And it's been you?"

"It's been me. I didn't think that you'd figure it out, and..." he reached up to rub the back of his head in that bashful Adrien way she'd never noticed with his superhero counterpart. But now that she saw it, the similarities were undeniable. "I like talking to you so much better when you're not stuttering."

"I-I," she choked out as he got closer to her, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, wild from the Akuma fight that seemed eons ago. "Adrien, I-"

"I know," he said, placing a hand on her forearm. "It's still me, Marinette. I'm still Chat. I'm still Adrien."

"I have a massive crush on you," she said, and a smile played onto his lips.

"I figured," he replied. "And you already know how I feel about you."

"About Ladybug," she corrected quietly, causing him to shake his head. 

"No, Marinette. About you." 

And then he closed the distance between them, his lips finding hers. At first, she jumped backwards, but his arm was there to catch her. And then, she closed her eyes, doing what she'd dreamed about for months... kissing Adrien, who was actually her best friend. Revealing herself to Chat Noir. 

He pulled away from her, eyes dancing with worry that he'd done something wrong. "I've meant everything I've ever said to you," he breathed, lips still inches from hers, hand still tenderly on the side of her face, tracing her skin with a feather-light touch. "I love you. Not just as Ladybug, but as Marinette. A part of me always has. This just makes it so much sweeter."

"And I love you, Adrien," Marinette said, leaning in for another kiss.

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

"Marinette?" Adrien asked, his voice rumbling in her ear as she laid against his chest. The pair was watching a movie in her living room— her parents were downstairs in the bakery, though they'd poke their heads in every so often to offer up cookies or cakes. In the weeks that Adrien had officially been declared her boyfriend, they'd been nothing but overjoyed, if not a little surprised at how long it took. 

"Mm?" She asked, turning her head up to face his. One of his hands absentmindedly played with her hair. 

"Do you remember that Akuma the day we found out about... eachother?" He asked hesitantly, his fingers stalling. Marinette sat up straight, looking at him seriously.

"Romantiking?" She asked, cocking her head. Why was he bringing this up now? "What about it?"

"Do you remember what it said was your greatest desire?"

She did, causing her to blush and look away. "That's a yes," Adrien said, ever the perceptive boyfriend. "A person to confide in, right? Someone who'd listen to you?"

"Right," Marinette said, embarrassed. "It wasn't that I didn't love or trust any of my friends. It was that I couldn't truly talk to any of you-"

"About being a superhero," he finished. "It doesn't matter now, but why didn't you come to me then? Why didn't you talk to Chat about it?"

Marinette bit her lip. "Because..."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" She insisted, the word coming to her lips instinctively. "God, no. You didn't do anything. It was just the circumstances of it all... I felt like I was lying to you about my identity, but I figured if I talked to you about it, it would just make things worse."

"You should have said something," he said, his hand seeking out hers and squeezing it. "I would have listened. I still don't think you were lying to me. And I would have been happy to hear you out."

"It was just so stressful," Marinette conceded, remembering that particular fight. "Just for a second, I thought about handing over my earrings, just so that everything would go away. I can't believe I even thought about it. But everything was just happening at once..."

"I know," Adrien said, pulling her into him once more, stroking the top of her head with his free hand. "I'm sorry I asked. It doesn't matter now. But I've been wondering about it."

"Don't apologize," Marinette murmured, loving the way his fingers felt in her hair. Adrien was very affectionate, she found out, and it was lovely. "And you know, I might have been a goner if your lovesick self hadn't pulled me out of the way."

"And I got to kiss your cheek," he joked, leaning down and doing just that once more. "I was so excited. Little did I know I'd have more where that came from."

Marinette blushed and let out a tiny giggle "Oh, stop," she said, leaning up to kiss him— this time on the lips. Softly, tenderly. "It all happened to land me where I am now," she said when she pulled away. "And everything's perfect."

"And thankfully, that somewhere is in my arms, princess," he murmured. Marinette couldn't believe how lucky she was— how months of turmoil had gotten her here. "And it couldn't be more perfect."

"Adrien?" She asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. 

"Mm?" He hummed in response.

"Do you ever think about that debate we had?"

Marinette could feel Adrien smile against the top of her head. "All the time. I'll never forget you calling me unconventional and— what was it? Downright stupid?"

She giggled. "You were sometimes. Are. But I still love you for it."

"I know you do, princess." Marinette's breath still caught every time he called her that. "But I still wish we had gotten another topic. That made me feel awful, even if I believed most of what I was saying."

"Oh, stop," Marinette said, reaching up to silence him with another kiss.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading-- feel free to let me know what you think!  
> my sincerest apologies to anyone who read this before i just edited it-- for whatever reason, the italics i write in to indicate thoughts didn't translate when i pasted it into ao3, and so it'd look like i'd switch tenses all the time. should be fixed now, along with a bunch of stupid typos i cant believe i missed before!


End file.
